Working on my next dual timeline historical/contemporary novel

Currently, I’m busy preparing for the release of my new short story collection, Drink Wine and Be Beautiful, launching in May.

But behind the scenes, I’m also preparing my next project – a dual timeline contemporary/historical taking place in modern and 1890s Rome.

The photo below is from my celebration when I finished my first draft during the Christmas holidays.

Since then, I’ve gone through my editing and then sent on my story to beta readers. Now I’ve received excellent feedback I’m incorporating into my story. Then I’ll go through another round of edits before sending it on to my editor.

If all goes well, I should have this out in autumn 2023. Fingers crossed…

Below you can find the story blurb.

Rome’s Last Noble Palace

Two women. Two different centuries. One attic room

American Isabelle Field has been shipped off to Rome to live with her aunt, Princess Elizabeth Brancaccio. Isabelle’s aunt and mother share a common goal – replicating Elizabeth’s success by marrying Isabelle off to a European nobleman.

But Rome in 1896 is on the cusp of a new century and Isabelle longs for more than a titled husband. She secretly designs costumes for Rome’s burgeoning theatre environment and dreams of opening a fashion atelier. Can she gather the courage to forge a life for herself, even if it means going against expectations?

Over a century later, doctoral candidate Sophie Nouri can’t believe her good fortune when she is selected to intern in Rome’s Near Eastern Art Museum. Even better, the position includes an attic apartment in the spectacular museum property, the Palazzo Brancaccio.

Overseeing a major exhibition is stressful, but tension alone can’t explain the disturbing nighttime presence in the deserted hallways of the grand palace – especially one no one else can sense. Almost as if a spectral being is trying to communicate with Sophie directly. Or warn her.